Sinopec Discovers Offshore Oil, Gas Field in East

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP), better known as Sinopec, discovered an offshore oil and gas field in eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

The Xinbei field is located north of the mouth of Huanghe River, with proven reserves of 6.88 million metric tons, or 50.4 million barrels, of crude oil and 482 million cubic meters of natural gas, said Xinhua, citing an official from Sinopec's unit Shengli Oilfield Co., which is the operator of the field.

Sinopec plans to build a platform capable of producing 600,000 tons a year, or 12,049 b/d, of crude by 2010 in the Xinbei field, it said.

Sinopec, the country's second largest oil producer by output, is actively exploring new reserves around the aged Shengli field, which is the country's second largest field after Daqing.

Shengli Oilfield Co. produced 13.57 million metric tons, or 546,528 b/d, of crude oil in the first half of the year, up 2.5% from the corresponding period of last year.

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